Possibility: Substitutes
by Mystic83
Summary: What if Baltar happened to not have as much pride as one would have thought? What if he had a use for Kara Thrace which gave him a freedom to choose?


This will be a series of stand-alone stories which deal with the choices that the characters on Battlestar Galactica have made throughout the mini-series and first season (I'll be posted in as much of the order of the season as I can). I want to explore what would have happened/changed if things had gone differently. Some of the stories will be angst, some will be shippy, some will be funny. There will be different pairings throughout. Don't feel like you have to check out each one to understand the others. All I ask is that if it intrigues you, then give it a try. Hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as I enjoyed writing them!

* * *

**_There are pivotal moments in one's life where if you take the wrong path everything may change. Those changes may be for the good or for the bad. The possibilities are endless.

* * *

_**Gaius Baltar turned to regard the blond woman currently scowling at him. "Well, what did you expect me to do?" 

She shook her head. "Gaius. A real man would not forgive a woman for moaning the name of another when he was inside her. Have I ever done that to you?"

"You're a figment of my imagination."

"Who can speak freely."

"Then, please, enlighten me as to how I screwed up. Because from my perspective telling Kara that I understood why she did what she did is only beneficial. Now she won't be too embarrassed to come back for seconds."

"She won't be coming back. You aren't the type of guy women come back to."

"Now that's just the jealousy talking."

Six stared at him a minute before sighing. Baltar watched as she slowly sauntered over to him and, rearing her right hand back and closing it into a fist, punched him in the jaw hard enough to knock him back off of his seat. "No. That was the jealousy talking. Before it was just the voice of reason."

By the time Gaius managed to right himself, she was gone.

"Oh bloody great," he screamed to no one. "I don't need this whole hit and run routine. And I don't need you."

"Who are you talking to?" Starbuck asked as she stepped out of the bathroom.

"Just myself." He trained his best grin on her. "I hope you found the clothing to your liking."

Kara looked down at the t-shirt and pair of sweats he had given her, insisting that she was not going to go walking down the halls of Galactica in her dress from the night before. "They fit," she said shortly. "Now I have to leave."

"Lieutenant Thrace," he called as she reached the hatch. He waited until she turned to look at him before continuing, "Your secret is safe with me."

"Frak off," she hissed, slamming the hatch shut behind her.

"That went better than I expected," he said to himself. What little he knew about Lieutenant Kara Thrace included that she only bothered to get angry with you if you mattered to her in at least some small way.

His hand went to his split lip as his thoughts turned to the other blond in his life. Let Six think that he had some sort of sick infatuation bordering on perversion for the lovely Starbuck. It would be better if his Cylon companion had no idea that his interest in the pilot was purely selfish.

He had a theory. And his theory gave him a specific use for Kara Thrace.

* * *

Only fourteen hours later, Kara found herself wondering the halls of Galactica, nursing the beginnings of one killer fat lip. She suddenly regretted taking that first swing. For a second there, she had forgotten how horrible it was to be on the receiving end of Lee's temper. And that made her lash out in anger. Which only served to get anger mirrored right back.

Sighing, she stopped in front of the hatch door she had been making her way towards. Even though she knew it was probably a stupid mistake, she figured at this point she had nothing to lose. So she lifted up her hand and knocked brusquely. There was the sound of something being shuffled around before she heard an invitation to come in.

She hoped to the gods that he had his pants on this time.

"Dr. Baltar," she said, entering his lab and shutting the hatch behind her. "I was wondering if I could speak with you for a moment."

"Of course, Lieutenant Thrace. And you can call me Gaius. I think that's only appropriate."

She watched as he waited in anticipation with that sly grin on his face. If he expected her to invite him to call her Kara, he had another thing coming.

"You look hurt," he added, pointing to her rapidly swelling lip.

"I had a little argument with the CAG. Said a few things that got on his bad side. So I'm trying to cool off a little before starting up Round Two."

"And you ended up here?"

"Don't ask me because not even I understand the thought behind it."

Dr. Baltar shuffled the papers in front of him away before turning to her. "Following your impulses. I understand." He leaned back in his chair and looked at her. "You wanted to speak about something specific, didn't you?" She watched in confusion as he turned to look at an empty space to his right. "In private."

"Yeah. I figured since there's only you and I in this room that it would be in private."

"Yes. You never know what one will say or do. Private is best in encounters like ours."

His tone was starting to piss her off. It was if he was insinuating that they were about to go through Round Two of their midnight activities the night before. Well, if he thought that she was about to throw him down on that desk and have her way with him right then and there, then he was dead wrong. Even a screw-up like her knew that you only had to make a mistake once to get the full consequences of the action.

She was about to say something to set him straight about the whole going-to-bed issue when he suddenly nodded and swiveled in his chair to face her. There was a noticeable shift in his demeanor, and it threw her off. It was as if every time she was talking to him, she was speaking to two people. One who listened intently and understood what she was trying to say. The other who mostly ignored her and stared off into space, having a separate conversation with himself that she wasn't privy to.

Maybe the whole of Galactica was right. Genius came with a price.

And she knew for a fact that insanity was a bitch to deal with.

"So, what did you want to speak to me about, Lieutenant Thrace? Because if it's to threaten my life if I tell anyone what occurred last night, then there's no need. I'm not one to brag." She gave him a funny look which made him laugh. "All right. Maybe I do like to brag. But definitely not about something like what happened."

"And getting me in bed isn't really a big feat these days," she found herself saying before she could think better of it.

"My, my. Now that is some low self-esteem we have today." He glanced at the same empty spot real quick before turning to look at her again. "If I were being truthful with you, I'd have to say my ego is quickly becoming bruised. Most women brag about being invited into my bed. But then again, most women aren't wishing they were with someone else when I'm inside them."

She could hear the hurt in his tone and suddenly remembered the hurt look in his eyes as Lee's name had slipped from her tongue. He had been nice in offering her forgiveness and insisting that it was not a huge deal. But she knew he must be trying to do the right thing. Because it had to have hurt.

Funny how it made her want to apologize to him when that was about the last thing she could do to the one man she cared for the most.

He was still blathering on about something or another. She had tuned him out moments before when she felt herself begin to get fed up with this dancing around the issue. She had come here for a reason, and that reason was not to banter and joke for hours about her little screw-up. She had enough of that from the whole of Galactica as the gossip spread from one corner of the ship to the other.

She had come here because she was confused, and for some strange reason, she thought he could help her figure out if her suspicions were right. "Listen, Doc. I'm not here to chat. I just wanted to ask your opinion, seeing as how you're never one to be short with words."

"Flattery will get you everywhere."

She ignored his sarcasm. "You were so understanding about my… little slip-up. I thought that maybe you might have some insight."

When she didn't continue, he prodded, "Into what?"

"I'm clearly an unattached female. That's the way I like it. A lot easier to do my job when there's no one to worry about." As she chanced a glance over at him, she was happy to see his patient listening persona was the one staring back at her. That was good because this was only going to get harder. "My relations to you, no matter how they leaked out to the crew of Galactica because they definitely did, they're perfectly normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing to get mad about."

"Is that how you got that wound? Someone got mad?"

"Yes. He got mad, it seems, that I let the likes of you into my bed."

"If I remember correctly, it was my bed."

"Good point. But still. I'm a single female dealing with harsh issues of death and suffering on a daily basis. Aren't I allowed to let myself go for one moment when it's perfectly safe for me to do so? I wasn't putting anyone in danger, and it's not like I've made a commitment to someone."

"To an extent," Baltar said, staring at her intently.

"What the frak is that supposed to mean?"

"You're unattached if you ignore the whole Apollo factor."

She crossed her arms in front of her in a sign that Baltar had quickly grown to realize meant she was getting both impatient and pissed off. "Cute nickname. Care to explain what the hell you're talking about?"

"You have this whole indefinable something with our good CAG. Most people write it off to the fact that you were supposed to be his sister-in-law. You have a past concerning him. That's obvious to every single person who sees you two together. But I don't think it's as simple as that."

"Very perceptive," she said, sitting down in one of the chairs at the table.

She watched as he suddenly turned away from her and hissed. "I think I can handle this just fine without your help." When she gave him a funny look, he laughed. "What I meant was that I think I can understand why you're here without you having to dance around it. You want validation that his punching you was done out of jealousy."

His words made her stomach jump. "No. That's not what I want. I want you to tell me that this has nothing to do with jealous. Because if it does, I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Have you tried thinking about possibly letting yourself be happy?"

"With Apollo," she said, scrunching up her face in concentration. "In my wildest dreams, yeah, I have thought about what it would be like to be happy. And it just so happens he's a part of that. But that's all it is. Dreaming. The life we live is far from the life of our dreams. It's ugly. It's brutal."

He shook his head in disagreement. "It's a hell of a lot better than an imaginary world. The reality is what makes it so great. The loss of control. The unknown. You get to just let yourself feel and experience instead of over thinking what it is you really want."

She shook her head. "That makes it only that much harder."

"For someone as impulsive as you appear to be, you seem to want to be awfully controlling."

"I like to see my frak-ups coming. Surprises aren't welcome in a life like mine."

"Your life is no different than anyone else's."

"I don't see you risking your life in a tiny little scrap of metal on a daily basis."

"No. I'm just in charge of telling people whether or not they are machines. You try dealing with the stress of knowing one of these days you're going to look a person in the eye and know they are not real. Then you have to make the decision of whether you tell them and risk them killing you or you lie to them and hope you have time to tell the Commander before you're found out."

"I never thought of it that way," she admitted.

"It's that kind of close-mindedness which keeps you from letting yourself give up the constant suffering. To suffer is to live in your book."

"It has been since I was little," she said, standing up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a mission to plan so that I can save the Fleet for the hundredth time this month."

"Kara?" he called, causing her to turn back to face him as she neared the hatch. "Can I ask you why you came to me out of all the people in your life to talk about Apollo? Because last I checked, you hated me."

"Because you're the only one that knows for sure, Doc," she said with a wink.

Silently, he watched her leave his office.

Once the hatch had banged shut and pulled him back into the here and now, something suddenly occurred to him. He hadn't seen or heard from Six for at least a good portion of that last little bit of conversation. It was like he forgot to acknowledge her, and she just disappeared.

His hunch must have been right.

Preoccupation and a desire to change was the key.

* * *

The next time, it was he who sought out Starbuck.

She was doing repairs to the Cylon Raider in preparation for the rumored flight that would give the Fleet a chance of getting the Cylon presence away from their downed Raptors on the surface of Caprica. In the back of his head, he found himself glad that he hadn't been on those shuttles. He didn't know how he would survive a crash landing onto such a lonely planet.

Plus, being away from Galactica would tear away all the progress he had made in regards to Six. She hadn't been around nearly as often the past day or so. And when she did show up, it wasn't to ground his head into a mirror like she usually did. There was no choking. No punching. No manhandling.

It was like she was losing control.

Smiling, he waited by the side of the Viper until Starbuck saw him standing there.

"Something I can do for you, Doc?"

"I wanted to know how your little problem is going. Resolve it yet?"

"No."

He waited for her to elaborate. But she didn't. "Because I've see what the ship is like when you two aren't on speaking terms. It's not a pleasant place to be."

"You're just going to have to live with it. He accused me of being a slut. I can't just let that go."

"But technically, aren't you?"

She wheeled herself up from underneath the Viper and sat up, resting her elbows on her knees. "Do you want me to kill you?"

"I'm just saying. You aren't exactly waiting for that special someone when it comes to sex." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Could that be because you're not allowed to touch that one special someone because, gods forbid, it would make you happy to be alive?"

"There are other factors to consider."

"Like what?'

"The military fraternization policy. My previous relationship with his brother. The fact that he hates my guts right now."

"You can find ways around that. You're resourceful."

"And you're an annoying ass," she stated matter-of-factly.

"But I'm the only one you can talk to."

"True." She pointed her wrench at him and glared. "For now."

He shrugged and sat down on a crate nearby. "I wanted to ask you a favor."

"So, it finally comes out."

"What does?"

"The reason why you dragged yourself down to the hangar bay. Somewhere, might I point out, where you have never been since stepping aboard Galactica." She lay back down and started up with the repairs again. "What can I do for you, Doc? The way I see you, I owe you one. So as long as that one is within reason, I'm game."

"I need you to agree that you'll keep talking to me."

"That's an odd request."

"With someone whose attention is as fickle as yours, it's necessary."

"Sure, I'll keep talking to you, Doc. As soon as I finish saving the stranded down on Kobol and get the Fleet to Earth and hunt down all the Cylons that are lurking aboard Galactica. I'm a busy girl, you know."

"You forgot something on your to do list."

"What?"

"Make sure the CAG understands that you're sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For screwing up." He grinned in the direction of where she was lying. "Actually, to be more precise, for screwing me."

He heard her chuckle from underneath the Viper. "Cute."

"I thought so. But seriously, I have some… issues that I'm trying to work out right now. Don't ask me why, but talking to you seems to be helping. I guess if you get past all the threats and bravado, I find you to be somewhat soothing."

She wheeled herself out again to look up at him. Smiling, she winked. "It's because my problems make everyone else's look less harsh. Everyone's life looks all rainbows and puppies when compared to mine."

Even though he was pretty sure that his problems could give hers a run for the money when it came to most frakked up survivor of the Cylon holocaust, he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to screw this one up. The way he figured, she played some important key role into getting rid of his pesky little Six problem. As long as she stayed important, he would stay patient and interested. "So have you thought about how you're going to solve your newest problem?"

"You changed the subject."

"Actually, you did. Multiple times. So answer me."

"You keep asking me that same damn question over and over again."

"And you keep avoiding the answer over and over again."

"It's because there is no answer. Some things you just can't fix."

"You just don't know where to start. Might I suggest telling Captain Adama about your nasty habit of yelling out his name in the throes of passion? I think that might open the lines of communication."

She waved her wrench at him, threateningly, again. "Careful. You want to keep talking to me, then you've got to stop saying things that make me want to punch you."

"Kara. Until you figure out how to start letting yourself be happy, I'm your only substitute. Maybe you should start thinking about the fact that you need me as much as I need you."

"I'm not sleeping with you," she warned him.

"I'm not asking you, too." He gave her a wicked smile. "Though, if you change your mind, I won't object. As long as you get the details right this time. I like to be on top, and I like to hear my own name being moaned."

She just glared at him. Gaius held up his hands in defeat and stood up. "I'll leave you to your repairs. And, Lieutenant Thrace, as a parting thought, might I suggest that you stop being the hero of humanity for once? Staying aboard Galactica right now might be your best option. Actually, staying with the Fleet in general might be better."

He saw her pale at his words. He could practically hear her wondering how he had known about the President's request for her to take the Raider away from the Fleet and to Cylon-infested Caprica. If she really thought about it, she would understand that being the Vice-President, it was his job to know everything that was going on.

He might be President one day. You have to be prepared for the eventual.

With one last smile, he began to make his way out of the hangar bay. It really wasn't that horrible a place. He had always imagined it as dirtier and louder. It was actually quite nice. He ignored the odd stares of those he passed, humming a happy tune. When he entered his office, he wasn't surprised to see her sitting there, waiting.

"You rang, Gaius?"

"I just wanted to thank you for what you've done for me so far and tell you I'm sorry that it has to end."

She let out a small laugh. "You think that you can just turn me off because you found a pathetic little human to satisfy your urges? Gaius, I made you."

"No. I'm pretty sure it was my mother and father that did that."

"You would be nothing without me. You would be lying dead in the wilds of Caprica."

"And that's why I thanked you. I appreciate it. I really do."

He saw her get up, probably intending to hit him. Ignoring the obvious imminent violence and resulting pain, he simply turned to stare into her slowly approaching eyes. "You know what the funny thing is? Spending one night with Kara Thrace has done so much more for me than my months long affair with you back on Caprica."

Six stopped in her tracks and regarded him with curiosity. "How so?"

"She's freed me from believing that I need you to survive. I don't need you to make sure that I'm safe from your fellow machines. The Fleet and Commander Adama's military are doing that just fine by themselves. They would probably be doing better if you weren't around to get inside information."

"When did you become such a do-gooder?"

"When I realized that one of these days, doing evil was going to get me killed. My need for self-preservation is greater than anything else. My pride. My love for who I thought you were. My intelligence."

"Why are you really doing this, Gaius? You keep forgetting that I know you deep down inside. And you are not one of the good guys."

"I have to be. Someday I'm going to be President of the Twelve Colonies. The people must love me. And as long as I'm a traitor to the human race, that won't happen."

"You are truly pathetic."

"And you are not needed," he said. "I can be great without you by my side now." With a sigh, he shut his eyes and concentrated.

When he opened them, he was in the room alone.

Angering a Cylon might not be the best short-term answer for his self-preservation desire. But he figured that keeping her at bay would be the best in the long term. Though he was going to miss those little trysts on the table in his office. And the head near the CIC. And that equipment locker on Level C. And that one time on the President's desk in Colonial One.

On second thought, maybe he had made a mistake. Evil was looking pretty damn good all of the sudden.

And weren't there plenty of evil politicians in high places of power?

Maybe his theory needed a little more work before he resigned himself to a life of doing good.

* * *

Years later, Gaius Baltar would find himself wondering what would have happened if he hadn't been so willing to use Kara Thrace in order to get what he wanted.

Maybe she would have taken that Raider to Caprica and the Fleet would have finally found their way to Earth.

Maybe Six wouldn't have gotten so jealous that she saw it fit to make sure that the good Lieutenant suffered in every way imaginable. She lost the only father she had ever known. Then she lost most of the pilots she had flown with on Galactica. And then the one friend she had left, Lieutenant Sharon Valerii, shot the one person she still loved. And as Lee Adama lay dying in her arms, she finally knew the pain of having nothing left to live for.

Which was why the Cylons saw it fit to let her live.

She didn't last more than two days.

Now that the rest of the Fleet had been systematically picked off by the Cylons, Gaius found himself alone on the gigantic ship. There was plenty of food for one man and plenty of blankets to stay warm now that the tylium had run out and heating wasn't an option.

Six had only appeared to him once since the day Starbuck killed herself.

She explained to him all the plans that Cylons had had for him. How he was going to become the leader of the new race of human-Cylon hybrids. How he was going to hold all the power to controlling the entire universe.

And he frakked it up just to give himself a little personal choice.

Sighing, Baltar pulled the blankets tighter around his body and stared out into space.

At least he knew the answer to his question now.

Evil was the way to go.


End file.
